Never Say Never
by Stephaniiie
Summary: An accident leaves Bella paralysed and never able to walk again. AU. All Human. One-shot.


**:::DEDICATION:::**

**I don't usually do dedications, but I want to for this. I'd like to dedicate this to Kitty because I know she'll be reading and I know she'll review. She's always so lovely and I always think 'That's nice. I'll reply to that in a minute' and then I forget to so her lovely comments go 'unnoticed'. They are really much appreciated. Thank you so much. (Now I hope you like it… :S)**

**Never Say Never**

**Disclaimer- The amazingly talented Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and all of the characters associated with it. Not me.**

**Summary- An accident leaves Bella paralysed and never able to walk again. AU. All Human. One-shot.**

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The beautiful, relaxing sound of Claire De Lune floated around me, calming me as terrifying memories whooshed over my head and threatened to drown me. I stared out of the window at the cloudy sky as I waited for the essence of my life to get home. But tears flooded down my face because I was not only waiting for him to arrive, but I had also decided to tell him about the accident that left me paralysed from the waist downwards; never able to walk again. He had never pushed me, never asked about it and we had never spoken about it. I knew, somehow, that he never would ask, but that he wanted to know. And he deserved to know. Last night, when we had both thrown our real feelings – our love – out into the open, I realised that I could never justify not telling him because he had supported me from the moment we had met and I knew that he always would. I was scared that when he found out that I would never get out of this damn wheelchair - that we could never have a proper life together - he would want to leave me and would instantly stop loving me, but I knew, deep down, that that was probably the best thing for him. We could never be together, so why should he waste his life with someone like me? There was only one answer to that: he shouldn't.

So that was why, less than six months after meeting him, I was preparing to lose him.

Then I heard the door slam and Edward call, "honey, I'm home!"

I hurriedly wiped away the tears and grabbed the wheels of my chair, pushing myself to the hallway to greet him. The moment he saw me, his beautiful face lifted into his trademark crooked grin and his emerald green eyes sparkled. I smiled back, but I couldn't make my own smile reach my eyes.

Edward held a bunch of red roses in his arms and he pushed them at me. "For you," he said, and then he lifted me up in his arms and kissed me passionately. I kissed him back, knotting my fingers in his bronze hair, knowing only too well that this could be the last kiss we ever had.

He put me down gently on the sofa before going off to put the roses in some water and make tea. I decided not to bother asking how his day was when he came back; it would be better to get things over and done with.

He came back minutes later with a cup of coffee for him and tea for me.

"Edward, we need to talk," I said without giving him a chance to speak.

He sensed the seriousness in my voice and took my spare hand as he sat down next to me. "What is it?"

"I…" I took a deep breath. "I'm ready to talk about the accident."

Edward's eyes immediately filled with sympathy; sympathy that I didn't want. "Bella, you don't have to. I don't want you to feel that you have to tell me, because you don't. It's in the past."

"But I want to," I replied honestly. "I have to tell you about the past so we can look to the future."

Edward stared at me for a long moment, looking deep into my eyes, as though he was trying to find the rebuttal in me against what I had said. It was too late for that now; my mind was set. He clearly found no uncertainty in my eyes because then he said, "Okay."

I blew the deep breath I didn't know I had been holding out through gritted teeth.

"You can stop anytime you want. You can change your mind whenever you want," Edward reminded me.

I almost laughed: what had I ever done to deserve someone as perfect as him?

But, instead, I shook my head and started my story, seeing it all again in my head as I re-told it to the one person I was living for…

_**Flashback**_

"_Can I look yet?" I asked impatiently, pulling slightly at the blindfold that was tied tightly around my eyes._

_Emmett's hand pushed mine back down again as he chuckled. "No, Bella," he said. "Not yet."_

_It was the late evening of my eighteenth birthday and my older brother was taking me to find my present. Why this necessitated a blindfold, I had no idea; my co-ordination was bad enough without being blinded too. I had also been led outside so I had no indication of where I was going and what could be ready and waiting to trip me up. But I trusted my overprotective older brother with my life, so I let him lead me with his capable hands._

"_Emmett," I whined. "Is this really necessary?"_

"_You'll thank me later," he promised._

"_I really hope so."_

_A few minutes later, he stopped. Of course, I walked into him and tripped._

"_Woah, steady there." He caught me, obviously expecting something like that to happen._

_I didn't say anything, just licked my lips in a cross of anticipation and nerves as Emmett went behind me and loosened the blindfold._

"_Take it off," he said softly._

_I hesitated and then swiftly pulled the thin strip of black material off over my head. I blinked, my eyes adjusting to the light and then gasped at what was in front of me. It was an old, red Chevy truck. The edges were covered in rust, though it had obviously had a good scrub down, and the beautiful red colour was fading. It didn't look like it would run and it wasn't the sort of car that said 'cool', but I loved it. They say it's the thought that counts and a great lot of thought had gone into this; it was exactly the kind of present I'd have asked for, if I knew what _to_ ask for._

"_Emmett!" I cried, excitedly. "You got me a car for my birthday?!"_

"_It's a truck," he corrected, beaming._

"_Well… same principle."_

"_Well then, yes I did. Of course, Mum and Dad chipped in a bit too, but…"_

_I threw myself at him and hugged him tight. "Thank you!"_

"_You're welcome, sis," he said._

_I pulled away from the hug to look at my truck again. "Come for a drive with me?"_

"_I dunno…" he refused, the smile fading from his face. "It's kinda dark. You might crash…"_

"_Oh come on!" I exclaimed. "You can't give me it and not let me drive it." I pouted at him, knowing full well what the puppy-dog eyes did from when he babysat me when we were younger. Emmett and I had always been as thick as thieves, and I felt closer to him then I had ever felt to anyone else. He wasn't only my brother; he was my protector, my parent and my best friend._

_He gave in quickly. "Fine."_

_I grinned and went round to the drivers' side of my truck. Emmett passed me the keys, as though he knew I wouldn't let him drag me away from the truck until I had driven it, and I twisted them into the ignition, feeling exhilarated as the engine roared to life._

"_Just round the neighbourhood," Emmett ordered. "No further."_

"_Fine, fine," I agreed, but I think we both knew that I wouldn't obey._

_I must have been driving around having the time of my life when Emmett decided to stop pretending to use authority and actually command me to turn around._

"_Yes, Dad," I joked, as I always did, and then I executed a nice U-turn and drove back the way we had come._

_We came to the crossroads about ten minutes away from home and the lights were green so I didn't bother checking that nothing was coming. The biggest mistake I had ever made._

_I regretted the decision the moment I made it because it was then that I saw the lorry speeding towards us. I probably could have avoided the collision if I had flawed it and concentrated. But I didn't. Instead, I reacted on impulse, slamming my foot on the breaks, not considering reaction time and how far the truck would skid across the crossroads._

_I barely had time to scream before the impact came. The lorry crashed into my side of the truck, which sun away from the lorry, turning on its side. I remember hearing the windows smash and worrying about why I wasn't in pain, but then the agony came and took me over. I heard my name being called and then I was sucked into the blackness._

_**End Flashback**_

I was shaking uncontrollably with sobs I couldn't seem to stop.

"Bella, Bella," Edward said my name over and over. "Stop. Don't do this to yourself. I don't want to see you hurting."

"I'm not," I whispered, through my tears. And it was true. I wasn't hurting because of what I had already told him, but because of what I was about to.

"I woke up three days later at the hospital…" I continued with a shaky voice. "Mum, Dad and Emmett were all there. Emmett was fine, save a few scratches- it was my side that had been hit. When I woke, Emmett burst into tears. It was the only time I've ever seen him cry.

"The doctors were doing tests on my spine and they had strong suspicions that I would never walk again. We were all devastated. And then I was assigned a new doctor." I smiled at him through my watery eyes.

Edward smiled back softly. "Dad."

I nodded. "Your Dad was amazing. He told me not to lose hope, so I didn't. I hoped and hoped and hoped. But hope is a misleading thing. I think it was a little over two weeks after the accident that another doctor came to see me. He told me that the tests had been completed and the diagnosis had been made. He… he said…" My voice shook and I looked at the floor.

"Ssh," Edward murmured. "You don't have to…"

I cut him off. "He told me that I'll never walk again." I didn't look up, not wanting to see his face as I revealed this. "And so I broke down. I was convinced that there was no point to me living anymore. I kept thinking of all of the things I could never do, never see because I was paralysed. I knew that I had a point to live – Mum, Dad, Emmett…- but I couldn't see it. I didn't think that they would want me around if I couldn't do anything with them. I'd always be a prisoner inside my own home.

"But then, your Dad sent you into me. You came in, said hi, drew the curtains, took my order for some of that disgusting sludge the hospital calls food, and then left again. But that one word meant everything to me. The one word that you said to me gave me a whole new perspective on things. Instead of dwelling on the things I would never be able to do, I thought of all of the wonderful things that I _could_ still do, and that I would miss out on if I died. I don't know why, but your first word to me changed everything. I saw something and I didn't want to lose it. So I clung on to it – I clung on to you and the hope that someday I could see you again – and I felt better, happier. I felt like my life wasn't over. I felt like my life did have a point after all, like… a light at the end of the tunnel. I saw that there could maybe be a little 'happily ever after' for everyone, even me." I was babbling now, and I knew it. I was just putting off hearing his response, looking up at his face, the words that were sure to come out of his lips when he knew that my life never would, and never could, be normal.

"I know you probably don't want to hear this anymore, but I love you, and I always will," I carried on. "You saved me from myself and for that I will always be in your debt. When I saw you again in that off-license, I thought it was a gift from the Gods and when you asked for my number… I will always remember how happy I felt. Ever since then, I've been scared of telling you because I was worried that you would leave me. But now I've realised that I'm just being selfish if I do that because I'd just be holding you back for the rest of your life. I don't want to do that. So I'm letting you go. You gave me a reason to live and have made me the happiest girl that ever lived in the last six months so I can't hold you here with me forever…"

"Bella," Edward said softly, his voice cracking. "You think I'd leave you?"

Now I looked up at him to see tears running down his perfect face. "You're not going to?"

"Of course I'm not!" he exclaimed, as though he was angry at me for ever thinking it. "Isabella Marie Swan, I love you and will for eternity, no matter what you do, say or feel. An inconsequential thing like that could never stop me loving you. I'll always love you. No matter what."

"No matter what?" I breathed in disbelief.

"No matter what," he repeated, brushing a lock of hair behind my ear. "You are my whole life and I could never lose you."

"But I'm damaged goods," I muttered. "You deserve better."

"No, Bella," he growled. "You are not damaged goods. And I don't deserve better. I ask myself everyday how I ended up with someone as perfect as you. How someone like you loved me. It's an idea beyond my wildest dreams."

"But…" I trailed off, looking at the floor again.

"But?" he questioned, cupping my chin with his hand and pulling my face up to look at me again.

"But I'll never walk again," I said quietly.

"It doesn't matter," Edward said. "Besides, doctors are wrong all the time. New medicines and cures are found everyday, Bella. I believe in miracles, Bella, and I think that you should too." He smiled at me. "Besides, 'never walk again' is quite a bold statement. They do say 'never say never'."

And then he kissed me again. I smiled against his lips, finally feeling like the weight had been taken off of my shoulders; the burden was gone, or, in the very least, lightened. For the first time in six months, I felt glad that I had been in the accident, glad that I was paralysed. Because I had gotten something much better in return. I had got Edward, who loved me, and always would, unconditionally.

And Edward was right… never is an awfully long time. So I made a promise to myself right there and then: I would _never_ say never again.

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**Well… thanks for reading and I really, really hope you liked it. I'm not entirely sure of it myself because I've only written one one-shot for Twilight and that was kind of a drabble so this is a bit different. I do the multi-chaptered fics so… yeah. This idea came to me on my way home from school today and I was going to write it as a multi-chaptered thing, where we find out that Edward is partly to blame, but I've got too many stories on the go at the moment and I'd just neglect writing all of them what with trying to get them done and all of the schoolwork the teachers seem to be pelting at us at the moment… so I changed it to a one-shot instead. And, yes, it will probably stay as a one-shot.**

*****IMPORTANT*****

**I started up a Twilight awards site last night for All Human fanfics so if you know any AMAZING All Human fanfics please head over there and nominate it. It would mean a lot to me and the authors of whatever fics you nominate. There are ten categories and you do need an account to nominate, but not to vote. Please, please have a look. I'd love to get it off the ground and up and running so that some of the truly incredible fanfic writers out there can get the recognition that they deserve. Thanks.**

**Here is the link: ./**

**And finally… please review!**

**Steph**


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